Review: Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point With 50 Photos, Video

Hi everyone!

We were invited to preview Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point for its first cruise. Lookout Cay is the newest island destination from the Disney Cruise Line, differing from Castaway Cay in that it’s not a private island. There are other differences as well, but many of them stem from the fact that Lookout Cay is on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas – a real place with its own culture and people who live there.

Jeff and I both have been visiting Castaway Cay since opening year in 1998, and looked forward to visiting Lookout Cay on the original Disney Cruise Line ship – the Disney Magic.

Not everything was ready at Lighthouse Cay when we visited (for example, the bikes were not there yet). So my photos, review and tips will take that into account.

We arrived at Lookout Cay while we were having breakfast at Lumiere’s. The servers near us were all excited to step foot on the island. (We actually had our first look a few months ago while sailing on a different cruise line, which gave us a great view of the cabanas). The long 1/2 mile pier was also in view. We could hear cheering as we docked. Here is our video of the arrival.

Cast Members then stepped out for the first time to prepare the island for guests.

Disembarkation began at about 10:30 a.m. for us due to Cast Members needing to set everything up. Because the Disney Magic is a smaller ship, exiting the ship and finding a tram should always be a bit quicker than from a larger ship. There weren’t as many kids on our cruise due to it being mostly a media and travel agent cruise, so that also meant fewer guests in the trams.

The temperature on this day was supposed to hit 83 or 84 at its peak, which sounded amazing. However, the “feels like” temperature was showing about 97 when I looked at it later in the day. It was bright and it was hot with little shade. Be prepared with plenty of water, sunblock, hats, a Key to the World card (or DisneyBand+) – and don’t forget anything because it takes a long time to get back to the ship. I would also suggest ponchos. The next day there was a huge thunderstorm in Nassau that rolled in while my weather app was saying 0% chance of rain.

I do think it would be helpful for there to be small signs letting guests know why they were walking the pier (it is so as not to disrupt the reefs near the island). And also, shade of some sort would be so welcome (as would benches). Guests with mobility issues can be taken on a golf cart to and from the ship. Check with Guest Relations for that option.

The view from the ship and pier is beautiful, with gorgeous blue water.

It took us about 13 minutes to walk from the ship to the Mabrika Cove tram stop. We didn’t have to wait to enter the tram, but we did wait for a few minutes while other guests boarded. I stopped very little on the way for photos, I figured I’d take them on the way back.

Near the tram stop, there is a coffee shop, a small merchandise kiosk, Turbot Berth charter boat check in, restrooms and guests can also purchase water.

The First & Last Chance Stand offers a limited amount of merchandise. There is a much larger amount of merchandise near the Goombay Cultural Center tram stop.

Cast Members were selling bags of water.

The tram ride to the Goombay Cultural Center tram stop took about 13 minutes from boarding to arrival. It took us about one hour from leaving the room to arriving at the Goombay Cultural Center. We did stop for a handful of photos/video clips, but we didn’t have much of a wait along the way. There is narration on the tram, but not much to see along the way. But the payoff for those looking for the beach is great.

There were no bikes yet, but Cast Members stood inside the Rocky Point Bicycle Rentals.

The Disney T’ings shop was very busy early in the day. I waited until later to make a purchase and it was relatively empty.

Guest Services is also located here. Jeff stopped by and picked up a map.

Our first stop was the Goombay Cultural Center to photograph ‘Rush: A Junkanoo Celebration’. We were not sure of the exact time for the show on this day, but we knew it would be around noon. Our departure from our stateroom was at about 10:30 a.m. and we arrived here around 11:30 a.m. Guests were engaged in an activity inside the center.

Disney says of the Goombay Cultural Center, that it “hosts a wide range of activities, including the “Sights and Sounds of Junkanoo” family workshop, where families learn Junkanoo traditions and crafts from local artisans.”

‘Rush: A Junkanoo Celebration‘ started just before noon and lasted about 10 minutes. Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy bring the Disney to the celebration, and then local performers arrive to share this celebration with guests. The colorful character costumes – and many merchandise items – are by Bahamian fashion designer Theodore Elyett.

Here is our video!

We do have an article about ‘Rush: A Junkanoo Celebration”. Here are a few photos from it. The Junkanoo-inspired arch is lovely.

Next, we headed to the Play-Play Pavilion for the ‘Disney Fun in the Sun Beach Bash’. While the concept art shows the event on the beach, it was in a much better place (in the shade) on this day. Kids are encouraged to participate in various games. Chip, Dale, Goofy and Pluto are the characters here.

Here is our video of the characters before the games started.

And here are a few photos.

I went to take a look at the beach around 1 p.m. We didn’t have time to go in the water or do much on the beach, since we were having lunch and still had a few other locations to visit. The beach and water look beautiful! I do want to visit the lighthouse on our next visit and hopefully that will be in a cooler period of the year.

The beach is the one aspect of Lookout Cay that everyone has raved about.

During our visit, there were plenty of beach chairs free. Guests on the next cruise (aboard the Disney Fantasy) reported otherwise, but this is easily remedied.

Lunch at True-True BBQ was ending at 2pm, so we headed there. And yes, there were a lot of flies in and around the food. I know Disney has been trying to fix this, but I am not sure what can be done at the tables with guests eating. Fortunately, the flies didn’t seem very interested in my hamburger (but they seem extremely interested in potato salad).

I tried some rice with chicken.  It was okay.

I also took a burger, some potato salad and a small corn. These were okay too, the same as you’d expect if you have eaten at Castaway Cay.

After lunch, we met a few Disney characters – Goofy, and Chip and Dale. We did not arrive in time to meet Mickey and Minnie, and then Donald and Daisy were not meeting at all that day. Something I do like about Castaway Cay is how the characters meet guests along the walkway to the beaches. These meets are located not far from True-True BBQ.

Here is our video with Goofy:

We also have a video of Chip and Dale.

And here is a photo of each meet and greet.

Serenity Bay is the adult area of the beach, and it is next to the family beach (unlike at Castaway Cay, where there is a tram ride between them). We were invited to take a look at a Serenity Bay cabana. These will be worth booking for many guests.

Here is our video of the cabana.

The living area seems very comfortable, and there is more seating outside. Water was also inside the small refrigerator.

After visiting the cabana, we were ready to head back to the ship. I did need a break from the heat, so we went back to True-True BBQ (which was closed) to sit for a few minutes. The ceiling of the seating area is really nice.

We passed by a children’s water play area, Rush Out Gush Out. There is also Sebastian’s Cove.

The Mickey design that you’ll see on merchandise is a photo backdrop near the tram stop.

Here is a look at some merchandise available when we stopped by the Disney T’ings shop. I am a fan of the Bahamian-inspired character merchandise.

I picked up a Minnie Mouse plush for a friend. The store is big with plenty of souvenirs to choose from. And there is also another shop, Treasures of Eleuthera for locally made gifts.

On the way back, I took some photos of the Disney Magic. It had been almost 10 years since our last cruise on this ship (we have been on the Disney Dream, Fantasy and Wish since).

Here is a look at the pier after we boarded. Give yourself plenty of time to arrive, just as with any port. This isn’t a pier you want to be running on! We arrived back to our stateroom at about 5:00 p.m.

Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point is a gorgeous addition to the Disney Cruise Line. However, there are some things that need to be worked out and hopefully they will be (including more shade). Everyone we spoke with that experienced the beach just raved about it.

My original goal was to rent out bikes, but we would not have had time to utilize them. Plus, it was really too hot to ride with us going ashore at 10:30 a.m. Hopefully our next trip out to Lookout Cay will be in a cooler month, I really would love to explore the area. And there are shore excursions to other areas of the island as well. That is another difference from Castaway Cay.

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Disney did invite us out, all views are ours. Jeff and I are fans of the Disney Cruise Line and have each sailed around 12 times since 1998.